The Solitary Rambler

It is autumn 2014 and after a unusually warm October temperatures have dropped as November starts. However, on the day I decide to explore Hathersage in the Peak District and the nearby Stanage Edge the sun shines making it a very pleasant day indeed.....

I had another week off work at the start of November 2014, so I looked to make a few more films of “The Solitary Rambler” in the Peak District during that holiday. I thought about going out on Saturday 1st November as the weather forecast was, and indeed it turned out to be fantastic. However, I had been out for drinks with friends on the Friday night, so I was not feeling 100% on the Saturday morning! The forecast was good for the following Monday, which in hindsight I thought would be a better day as weekends would likely be a lot busier with other walkers and visitors.

I chose Stanage Edge as the primary location for my latest video and early on Monday 3rd November I arrived in Hathersage to begin the day’s filming. I parked my car near the outdoor swimming pool, so I took a few shots around here before walking towards the village centre where my heart sank as I saw major roadworks on the main street! I wasn’t going to be defeated though and I still managed to get some great footage of the village avoiding the roadworks in shot as much as I possibly could.

I walked up to the church to take a few shots before moving on to North Lees Hall. I shot many scenes around here and then climbed up to Stanage to carry out the main filming of the day. It was very windy up along the edge, but I captured some fantastic shots all the same. I filmed the millstones seen in the title sequence, which are just below the edge near the southern end before ending up at Upper Burbage Bridge. I stopped here briefly for a sandwich then continued on to Higger Tor and Carl Wark before heading back down to Hathersage where the filming was completed.

Music

I composed a slower version of “Song of the Peaks” to use in several sequences of "Heights of Hathersage". Based around this I also created a couple of other haunting themes for the scenes before and after walking along Stanage Edge.